<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Subtlety is Key by Please No Portraits (GothAlbinoAngel)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22504594">Subtlety is Key</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Please%20No%20Portraits'>Please No Portraits (GothAlbinoAngel)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six - Marlow/Moss, six the musical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anne is a big softie, Aromantic Anna, Dating Advice, F/F, Fluff, Parrward (mentioned), aralyn - Freeform, minor profanity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:40:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22504594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Please%20No%20Portraits</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon asked:  “Do you even know what subtle means?” For araleyn if that sounds fun for you?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anne Boleyn/Catherine of Aragon, Katherine Howard/Catherine Parr, Katherine Howard/Catherine Parr (mentioned)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Subtlety is Key</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Aralyn/Araleyn is such a good ship, I love it. </p><p>Nicknames: Kit - Howard, Cathy - Parr, Lina - Aragon</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kit gasped as a sudden weight dropped onto her bed. Pulling her earbuds loose, she glanced over to find her big cousin grinning at her. To the untrained eye, she seemed easygoing, but Kit had been raised by Anne. There was something going on in that head of hers. </p><p>“What’s up, Annie?”</p><p>“Kit. Kitkat. Kitty-Kat. Katizzle. The Kittiest Kat. The Kat’s me-.”</p><p>“Did you only come here to make puns out of my name?” Kit chuckled, sitting up. If Anne was stalling, then it was important. </p><p>Anne sighed and stretched. “How’d you and Cath confess your feelings to each other?”</p><p>Kit blinked in confusion. “You wanna know how we started dating?”</p><p>“Yup. I need advice, so hit me.”</p><p>“Uh…” Kit tapped her chin. “She punched a guy that was hitting on me at the club.”</p><p>Anne bolted up in shock. “What? For real? <em>Cathy?”</em></p><p>“The one and only,” Kit affirmed. “It was while you, Lina, Jane, and Anna were upstairs. You all got stuck in that drinking contest, and Cathy stayed down with me to keep an eye on me? And some sleazeball wouldn’t take no, so when he tried to grab me, she decked him. Afterwards, I kissed her as thank you and we started dating.”</p><p>Anne raised a skeptical eyebrow at her and Kit blushed. “I mighta avoided her for two days out of panic, but <em>then </em>we started dating.”</p><p>“Alright…” Anne nodded slowly. “So, I just gotta punch a dude. Gotcha!”</p><p>Before Kit could correct her cousin’s train of thought, Anne had zoomed out of the room, shutting the door only slightly too loudly behind her. Kit stared after her for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to her textbook and cranked her music up. If Anne was going to punch a random stranger to impress a woman, Kit didn’t wanna get distracted by Cathy and Anna scolding her for it. </p><p>Anne paced her room. She couldn’t really do the whole punching a person thing. Violence tended to get the opposite of an intended reaction. Besides, she doubted any dude had the stones big enough to try anything. Okay, since Kit (and subsequently Cathy) was out of the question, next best option!</p><p>Jane blinked as a blur of green rushed into her room. She carefully set her painting on her desk and turned to the Tasmanian Anne. “Anne, is something wrong?”</p><p>“Not really, just need some advice.” </p><p>Jane stared at her hard. “Sorry for being blunt, but that’s the last thing I ever expected to hear from you.”</p><p>Anne huffed. “Hey! I can be responsible! I raised Kit, didn’t I?”</p><p>“Fair point,” Jane conceded with a grin. “So, what did you need advice about?”</p><p>“How’d you and, uh, what’s-his-name-?”</p><p>“Jonathon,” Jane supplied patiently.</p><p>“Yeah, how’d you and Johnny hook up?”</p><p>Anne hoped she wasn’t crossing a line. Jonathon had died only a year or two ago. She didn’t want to accidentally upset Jane by making her remember. </p><p>Jane hummed softly as she thought about it. “If I remember right, we started talking over our shared love of painting. He was explaining different palettes he wanted to try for landscapes and I was giving him some pointers for color-mixing. He invited me to talk more over coffee. And then one coffee turned into two, two turned into dinner, and dinner turned into-.”</p><p>“Jane, please, no,” Anne interrupted. She held her stomach and mimicked being sick. “I already gotta think of Cathy kissing Kit against a wall, please don’t do this to me.”</p><p>Jane rolled her eyes and batted her arm with a grin. “Well, <em>you’re </em>the one who asked, fancy pants.”</p><p>Anne fell back on the bed and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. So, what? I gotta talk paint?”</p><p>“No, silly,” Jane said, plopping down beside her. “You have to find something the two of you have in common and go with it!”</p><p>Anne’s eyebrows furrowed as she thought that over. Something in common? Off the top of her head, she could only think of one thing and she doubted that was a good jumping off point. Still, it was <em>something, </em>so she’d take it. </p><p>“Thanks, Jane!” she chirped, hopping up. </p><p>Jane watched Anne race from the room and hoped she did the right thing. Whichever woman had caught Anne’s attention better know how to deal with trouble. Otherwise, she might not survive. </p><p>Okay, so Jane, Kit, and Cathy were all busts. That was fine. Anne would get some good advice from the date master. There was no way this could fail… hopefully. </p><p>Anna nearly threw her controller through her TV when her door slammed open. Pausing the game and removing her headphones, she took a deep breath. “Anne, you scared the shit outta me!”</p><p>“Sorry!” Anne grinned, not looking the least bit sorry. “Need some help.”</p><p>Anna perked up. Was it prank day already? “With what?” She still needed to get Kit back for the past two months. The girl was a whiz with makeup and Anna had fallen for the fake dogs both times. </p><p>“You date a buncha people,” Anne started. She was stopped when Anna held up a hand. </p><p>“I don’t date, Anne,” Anna corrected her sternly. “I take people out to dinner occasionally. There’s a difference.”</p><p>Anne sighed. “I’ll needja to explain that thing again later, <em>but! </em>You occasionally pick people up, so how?”</p><p>Anna blinked. “How?” </p><p>“How do you, ya know, ask people out?” Anne waved her hands in a vague gesture. “I wanna ask someone out, but no one’s been helpful.”</p><p>“Have you tried asking the person you’re interested in what their ideal date would be?” Anna pointed out. </p><p>Anne stared at her. Anna stared back. They stayed like that for a long moment before Anne asked, “You’re serious?”</p><p>“Ask her what she likes,” Anna urged her. “You can’t go wrong if you get it right from her, right?”</p><p>“Huh.” Anne looked at the floor. “I guess you’re right. Thanks, Anna!”</p><p>Anna could barely respond before Hurricane Anne had disappeared out the door once more. A smirk played on her lips as she saved her progress and stood. There was <em>no way</em> she was missing this. </p><p>Anne took a deep breath and hopped in place. She could do this. She’d punched a rabid squirrel for Kit, she could do this. She was steel. She was titanium. She was that one metal with the hard name that gave Wolverine his claws. She could do this. </p><p>Lina hummed softly as she flipped through the latest book suggested by Cathy. It was a beautiful tale about someone embarking on a quest to save their home, even though the entity had promised them anything their heart desired if they let the country burn. It reminded Lina of the tales of Jeanne d’Ark. </p><p>Someone’s gaze on her made Lina glance over. A pair of bright brown eyes peered at her over the arm of her chair. Two space buns and some green eye shadow left no question as to who it was. Lina hoped she could finish her book after this. </p><p>“What do you need, Anne?” she asked carefully. She didn’t know if this was a prank or not, so she wanted to be on guard. </p><p>“Lina,” Anne chirped, settling on the arm of the chair. “I’ve been going around to everyone asking them the best way to ask someone on a date. Me? Asking for help? Strange, I know. Anyway, how would <em>you </em>like to be asked out? What’s your <em>ideal?”</em></p><p>Lina glanced down at her book, deep in thought. “I guess I would like it to start out subtly. Little notes here, a packed lunch there. And once a week or so has passed, a dinner date.”</p><p>Anne tapped her chin curiously. “Wow, that sounds just like you.” She reached over to pinch Lina’s cheek. Sticking out her tongue as Lina swatted her hand away, Anne jogged backward from the room. </p><p>Lina huffed. She couldn’t understand that woman sometimes. Still, though, if someone had caught Anne’s eye, they were pretty lucky. Despite her behavior, it wasn’t often Anne focused on her own wants. Lina was curious to see if her research proved fruitful for whichever woman she was after. </p><p>Suddenly, a blur of green and brown landed on her lap and Lina gasped. Anne grinned up at her impishly and asked, “So, are you free for dinner Friday night?”</p><p>Lina couldn’t keep the grin off her lips, even as she tried to keep her composure. With an indignant sniff, she demanded in a faux-haughty tone, “Do you even <em>know </em>what subtle means, Boleyn?”</p><p>“I know it means you didn’t say no just now!” Anne cheered, throwing her hands up and nearly knocking the lamp from the side table. “I’ll pick ya up at seven! I know this great place on South Broad, with candles and curtains. Might even manage to catch a walk around their fountain, what d’ya say?”</p><p>A laugh bubbled up from Lina’s chest and she nodded. “Okay, alright. Friday at seven, then, you little demon.”</p><p>“Hey!” Anne gasped, holding her hand to her chest in mock-offense. “If I was a demon, you wouldn’t’ve said yes!”</p><p>“True,” Lina agreed. “However, I expect no less than one kiss before our scheduled outing, is that clear?”</p><p>Anne straightened, her smile and eyes softening. “I can give ya one right now,” she said quietly, entwining her fingers with Lina’s. She relished in the blush that rose to Lina’s cheeks. </p><p>With careful movements, Anne leaned forward. She lifted Lina’s hand and gently pressed her lips to Lina’s knuckles. The flustered expression she got in return was the best Anne had ever seen. Usual grin sliding back in place, she rolled off Lina’s lap. </p><p>“See ya Friday, babe!” she laughed, darting from the room. </p><p>Lina watched her go, still slightly dumbfounded by the kiss. She hadn’t thought Anne would or even <em>could </em>do something like that. It seemed she was in for some more surprises. The least of which being the packed lunch and cute note she found with her name on them the following day. Yes, anyone who caught Anne’s eye was definitely lucky. And thankfully, Jane didn’t have to worry. Lina was plenty capable of keeping up with Anne’s trouble. </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>